Love Is In The Air

I knew I would see them early. It only made sense considering the way the seasons have been. I hadn't really started watching yet for the birds I love so much, but I had it at the back of my mind that the yard would soon be full of nesting families, and melodious communications.

The truth of the matter is this has been an extremely mild winter. Fall went down easy. We were well into November before our first snow. Maybe it was even December. Then as every winter should be, we were covered in white for our Christmas holiday in December and then continuing into January. Enter February. February is always my favorite winter month. I always say it is "the sunniest month of winter". This year did not disappoint. But with the sun, we have also had warmer temperatures throughout the month. That makes for an early spring.

I noticed the first Robin on Monday, February 22nd. I couldn't see him real well, so I wasn't positive. But it was only a few more minutes when I saw 3 or 4 more. Well, we are on our way, I thought. The next day while talking to my son in the drive way, we saw the little Chickadees and Nuthatch.

It was Thursday, as I was looking out the living room windows while talking to my husband, that I saw the first Bluebird -  two actually. One was sitting on each box at the corner of the pasture. They were Westerns. The Mountains have been rare the last couple years. I am really hoping some will return this spring. I was a bit surprised to see the Westerns so soon. They usually don't appear until around the first week of March. March 11th, last year. But then again, with the early spring, as I said, I really wasn't that surprised.

Finally, Friday, the 26th, as I headed out to feed the horses, I heard the warble of the first Meadowlark. For some reason, this did surprise me. I simply wasn't expecting them. In fact, I think I had almost forgotten about them....yeah, age will do that to you. But I stopped what I was doing to listen carefully. There was more than one. Maybe even more than a few. The sound gives me pause every time. It simply warms my heart, and brings back nostalgic feelings and hope for the future. Love is in the air.

February Rambles

There is a "fingernail moon" tonight. So beautiful! And because of the bright, clear night, I could also see the outline of the full moon. I started to pull the blinds, but then raised them again to gaze a bit longer.

My son is safe, where he is supposed to be...

I got a new car. It was exactly what I wanted.

I slipped and fell flat today...landing in the thawing snow. There is only one way to get up, when I am down...and it ain't easy. My dress was soaked before I was on my feet.

My beagle likes apple horse biscuits.

My lab likes me.

Everyone is well (sort of) for the moment.

Vacations, empty, "new" houses, days off work, and news of new babies cheer me..no matter who it is that gets them.

Waiting is never, ever easy and so I wait and I wait and I wait. And then I wait some more. And yes, I meant to use the conjunction "so". If waiting were easy, I would not be required to wait. It is simply the way of it.

The horses had visitors today...and got extra carrots and extra treats, because the little two year old lass wanted to feed them, and touch them and smell them...there is a horse in her future, I am quite sure. She already gets it.

It is February, my favorite winter month and the sunniest of the season. Today was prime example.

It is now 6:24 pm. A bit closer to bed time.

Saw a moose in our downtown little town. Saw moose prints in my son's driveway.

Freeze and melt; freeze and melt; but we are on our way.

I follow politics; there is no way out of it. I have tried. I am protecting my faith, so we can continue to share our faith. I am a missionary, too. "Some have to churn and some get to take the cream off the top"...as my youngest sis says. Churning, churning, churning...I'm sorry some don't like it...but only a little.

We have new friends. They laugh with us, and visit like we have known each other forever.

I am still not writing or reading very well; thus this post.

Spring is coming.

"The best part of waking up, is [coffee] in your cup."

Night-night.

The Lifting Fog

I haven’t been able to write. I haven’t been able to read. Neither have I been able to watch television or movies. I am in that place…that weird place, I don’t even know how to describe. Usually it is just my reading that is affected and I just can’t get through an entire book. But this time everything is affected – reading, writing, vegetating into TV-land. My brain is simply mush and won’t take on another thing.

This is how it has been at least since fall. Maybe longer. Oh I know I have typed out a blog post now and then, but it has been work. There has been no joy or relaxation in it.

Today, I feel like I can write. So I got up a bit earlier to give it a try.

I have also recently started a new book, and I do believe I will be able to get through it. I have started about 4 or 5 books over the last few months, but I have only read to about the 2^nd or 3^rd chapters in any of them. The one that has been able to hold my thoughts, finally,  is the one that I least expected. It is a big, thick, political book by Karl Rove. Oh, I know; everyone hates Karl Rove. I love him. He is a political strategist, pundit, and he was the campaign manager for George W. Bush when he ran for President. He is head of a political action committee, which strives to place conservatives into office. His nick-name is the Architect. Anyway, I am rambling now. I didn’t intend to write about Karl. But because I started, I will tell you the name of the book, it is The Triumph of William McKinley and Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters. It is so good so far. There will be a blog post/book report later, I am sure.

Anyway, let me get back on track. Writing…how come I can do it today? I don’t know. I just felt like I could. I went to coffee with my folks yesterday. My dad had started reading the book again that I wrote about him. He started telling me about it the minute we got to his house. Once we all arrived at coffee, much to my mother’s frustration, he was still talking about it. “It is so well-written.” He told me, just as if he had read it for the first time. Well sometimes it seems like that when it has been a while and one re-reads a favorite book. He wants me to get it published. I explained that it isn’t quite that good. And I explained it is expensive (for me, anyway) to self-publish. He actually seemed very disappointed. Mom changed the subject.

So, did that encourage me to write today? Nah, I don’t think so. The fog in my brain is simply beginning to lift. Why now? It’s been months. I don’t know. Things are a bit better. My dreaded January is almost over. I am able to pay attention a bit more to my own family and a little less to someone else.

My winter has consisted mostly of tears every morning out of frustration and fear as I scurry off on the drive I hate so much…fuming all the way, of course. Doing what needs to be done, then coming home and collapsing in my chair. It’s been a rough time. I have learned to surround myself with things I like to call “creature comforts”. I don’t really even know what that means. I don’t know if it is some phony Freudian psychology term, or if it comes from the Christian community. You know; part of the “Christianeze” we all like to use that makes us look like we know what we are talking about and also makes us look like we are just a tad more holy than the next guy.

I first heard the term in a Bible Study I was attending in the ‘70’s. I loved the pastor that taught the study. And he used the term one evening. Apparently I latched onto it, because I remember it all these years later. I have even written, on this blog, about it before. But honestly, I don’t remember if the pastor used it in a good way or a bad way in his teaching. I think I have only heard the term one other time in all these 40 plus years. I don't remember in what context. But let me tell you what "creature comforts" mean to me. Yes, God is our Comforter and we should need nothing more, but tangible things go a long way in helping us get through this life. None of us are above that fact, as much as we would like to be. Creature comforts are actually what I intended this post to be about. I’m finally getting to it a full typed page later.

Creature comforts that got me through this winter.  
              

·        Lighted, scented candles – My sister, sharing my burden, surprised me with one this winter. It is Peppermint Marshmallow entitled “JOY”. She knew what I was looking to find. Just a little…I lit it every time I got home on the dark winter nights.

·         Scented foamy hand soap - “Peppermint” - given to me (without a reason) from my oldest sis.

·         A crackling fire in the fireplace.

·         Dogs at my feet and on my lap.

·         A cup of hot Tomato soup.

       ·         Kleenex

·         4 pair of readers strategically placed where I like to read -  my bed, my recliner, my computer and my kitchen.

·         Smooth, creamy, aromatic hand lotion- strategically placed, by my bed, my recliner, and my computer.

·         Gloves, and boots and scarves.

·         The sound of turning Bible pages. When my son was about 5 or 6, he pointed this out to me one day when we were sitting in church. I never forgot it. Leave it to a child to notice something so very important that we adults are too busy or focused to think about. Such a comforting sound, whether reading alone, or in a group.

·         December 22^nd - the first day past the shortest day of the year. This is a huge landmark in me keeping my sanity.
·         Soothing throat lozenges - Halls Defense or Ricola - including the rustling of the bag in which they are contained.

·         Traditional, sentimental Christmas décor.

·         Sunrises, Sunsets.

·         Full moons and fingernail moons.

·         My muck boots that my boys got me for Christmas. OH MY! One of the best gifts ever! Competes with my horse bench and Charles Dickens Collection, but nothing will ever beat out the Alan Jackson tickets when my son was 15. 

·         My bed, my comforter and my feather pillows.

So there you have it, I probably forgot a few things that got me through the fog. Still working on it. I know I will get there. And now, I am going to go join Karl...everyone hates him.

It's What You Do

Laughter. I don't think there is anything that makes me laugh harder than when I see myself in certain situations and I can relate to the people involved.

I remember years ago watching a movie where the humor was so much like mine, I laughed through the entire 2 hours. Today, I don't even remember what movie it was. But I do remember the laughter. I had seen myself caught in the same situations as the heroin of the comedy over and over and over. Boy, could I relate.

Well I haven't laughed like that in some time. Until today. I was resting a while, not even paying that much attention to the television. I had actually dozed off. When I woke, I woke to the commercial in the video below. Though, I had seen other ads that were similar by the same company, it is the first time I had seen this one. I laughed and I laughed and I laughed.

I am not promoting the product I simply hope it makes you laugh, too.




Here is to more laughter in 2016...especially when it is at ourselves.